'Ghostbusters' theatrical re-release this October?

According to the Ghostbusters Facebook page, this is happening. The official word is:

Alright, Ghostbusters fans. It’s time to get your cats and dogs together and prepare for mass hysteria: This October, for the first time in over 25 years, the original and unforgettable Ghostbusters makes its triumphant return to theaters!

Sounds like good news to us at PPC, but will you shell out $10 or more to see a movie you likely already own on the big screen? Think this is a maneuver to see how interested fans are in GB3?

Dan Aykroyd 'elated' over mass Crystal Head vodka theft?

Dan Aykroyd, the once and future ghost buster, and noted paranormal enthusiast, was recently the victim of a mass theft of his Crystal Head Vodka from a California warehouse, TMZ reports. More than 21,000 bottles of the premium spirit, which costs well into the several hundred thousand dollar range, were swiped last week, causing both the Los Angeles Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to join the case.

But the real surprise here?  Aykroyd isn't all that upset, and is actually taking the theft incredibly well.

According to a statement, Aykroyd said he is "distressed and elated" over the heist.

"My partners and I are sorry to lose this much vodka to theft and do not condone criminal activity in any fashion, but we are happy that some consumers will be afforded the opportunity of tasting it at significantly lower than retail price."

He then adds, "CHV can be purchased legally at bars, restaurants, and retail stores throughout North America."

Not that we're condoning the theft either, but after sampling the vodka for an interview with Dan, we definitely understand the allure of the vodka's mystical properties.

Bill Murray dodges, stalls (again) on 'Ghost Busters 3'

Instead of showing hesitation or trying to back out, what if Bill Murray - a showbiz savvy actor who fired his agent, began accepting job offers only through a 1-800 number and successfully re-created his own image into a Renaissance actor - was instead bobbing and weaving about his involvement with Ghost Busters 3 (which is supposed to begin production this spring) to actually create enough hype and anticipation for the movie and his third appearance as Peter Venkman? 

This bizarre theory may be the only thing a rational mind can come up with to describe the production's back-and-forth, on-again/off-again speculation. As recently as Feb. 3, Screen Rant's Anthony Ocasio reported that the script by Year One writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky - which has been rewritten and agreed upon by Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, director Ivan Reitman and Sony Pictures - had not yet been read by Murray, but that that was OK and just part of the actor's routine.  Then, this Monday, while promoting No Strings Attached, Reitman said Murray "has seen Ghostbusters script."

Except that may not be completely true. In an hourlong interview, Stern gets Murray to open up and admit that "I'm the problem" with Ghostbusters 3.

"Before I was an asset, [but] now I’m a problem. There’s a script somewhere [on my desk], but I haven’t read it yet."

He also admits that, agreeing with Stern's words, the sequel is a "bulls---t idea":

I only made one sequel and it was Ghostbusters 2 and it didn’t end up the way it was presented. About five years after we did the first one, the clever agents got us all together in a room and… we really are funny together, I mean they are funny people – Harold [Ramis] and Danny [Aykroyd] and myself, with Ivan [Reitman] and maybe one or two other people. We were just blindingly funny for about an hour or so and the agents, there was just foam coming off of them. They had this pitch and Danny and Harold had concocted some story ideas… and it was a story, it was good story. I think I had even read one or two [scripts forGhostbusters 2] that Danny had rolled out beforehand, but this one was a good one. I said, 'Ok, we can do that one.' It was just kind of fun to have all of us together… I mean [Rick] Moranis, Annie [Potts] – these people are just sterling people to begin with.

Ocasio did some follow-up reporting on Murray's appearance on The Howard Stern Show where the actor admitted he had received the script, but no reading had been done.

However, Murray does admit he will read the script but hasn't thought much about it, and lends more credence to the idea the new movie is at least partially about passing the mantle to younger 'busters.:

I gotta get to it – I feel bad. I got a message and I think people – I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings – it’s not the foremost thing in my mind, so I don’t think about it.
You know, the studio gets excited every 10 years or so. What they’d really like to do is recreate the franchise. I remember when the new Ghostbusters was going to be Chris Rock, Chris Farley and Chris Crane… Kris Kringle… someone [laughs] – they had it together.

So the end assumption I think we can all safely make?  This movie is happening, but I just happen to think Bill Murray is building buzz in his very Bill Murray way.

Either that, or all this round-and-round is some effed-up viral marketing for a Groundhog Day sequel.

Mega comic crossover pits zombies vs. pop legends

To boldy go where no walking dead has gone before?
A real American zombie?
We ain't 'fraid of no reanimated corpses?
Undead robots in disguise?

Now I must warn you fellow geeks, clamp your mouth shut and try to prevent drooling (it's hell on keyboards) because Captain Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, G.I. Joe, the Ghostbusters and the Transformers are all joining together in an epic comic book crossover event to battle zombies.

Comic publisher IDW announced the crossover, entitled Infestation, will launch January 2011 with Infestation #1 set in the Zombies vs. Robots universe. So says the press release:

This initial 32-page story begins in IDW’s own ZOMBIES VS. ROBOTS universe, where something goes terribly wrong and ultimately infests  the worlds of TRANSFORMERS, STAR TREK, G.I. JOE, and GHOSTBUSTERS with zombies and infected robots. From there, the story spins ferociously into each of the four properties throughout February and March, and culminates in April’s bombastic finale, INFESTATION #2.

In February, TRANSFORMERS: INFESTATION #1-2 and STAR TREK: INFESTATION #1-2 will ship bi-weekly. The TRANSFORMERS title will also be written by Abnett and Lanning, with fan-favorite Nick Roche handling the art. STAR TREK will be written by mainstay writers Scott and David Tipton and illustrated by Casey Maloney (Zipper).

March will see the release of the bi-weekly G.I. JOE: INFESTATION #1-2 by writer Mike Raicht and artist Giovanni Timpano, as well as GHOSTBUSTERS: INFESTATION by Erik Burnham (THE A-TEAM: WAR STORIES) and Kyle Hotz (Marvel Zombies).

No doubt such a high-concept crossover will be hard to pull off, but I'll certainly be reading. Of course, we can all safely assume anyone named Snake Eyes, Venkman, Optimus and Spock will survive the zombie attack, but I sure wouldn't want to be a Red Shirt in that world.

Top movies about possession

The Last Exorcism premieres today and the reviews for it are pretty favorable, especially considering it's a docu-style horror produced by Eli Roth. The Rotten Tomatoes tally is a decent - and hilarious - 69 percent, so this might just be a demon flick with lasting power.

To tap into the movie's release, the Associated Press has put together a list of the top movies about possession. The list is fun, and includes classics The Shining, The Exorcist, Ghost Busters, All of Me and Heaven Can Wait.

However, this isn't groundbreaking and omits more recent entries like Evil Dead 2, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Paranormal Activity.

Here's what they have to say, and then let us know what else they missed:

Bill Murray on 'Ghost Busters 3' on-again, off-again news

In its recent August "Comedy Issue," GQ lands an interview with Bill Murray to discuss his approach to comedy, his place in the movie business and his new indie film, Get Low. But no good features writer can interview Murray without getting the latest news on the ever-evolving Ghost Busters 3 story. Thankfully, Dan Fierman is a good writer and gets some nice quotes out of Murray in a piece accompanied by a Daniel Clowes (of the non-paranormal, but excellent, Ghost World) illustration.

To recap on the GB3 drama, Dan Aykroyd told me the movie was on. Harold Ramis said the same thing, and that the film would be out in Dec. 2012. However, it was Murray who said it was a no-go (to David Letterman), then said, "maybe."

So where does the third movie stand now?

Is the third Ghostbusters movie happening? What's the story with that?

It's all a bunch of crock. It's a crock. There was a story—and I gotta be careful here, I don't want to hurt someone's feelings. When I hurt someone's feelings, I really want to hurt them. [laughs] Harold Ramis said, Oh, I've got these guys, they write on The Office, and they're really funny. They're going to write the next Ghostbusters. And they had just written this movie that he had directed.

Year One.

Year One. Well, I never went to see Year One, but people who did, including other Ghostbusters, said it was one of the worst things they had ever seen in their lives. So that dream just vaporized. That was gone. But it's the studio that really wants this thing. It's a franchise. It's a franchise, and they made a whole lot of money on Ghostbusters.

Oh, sure, I remember. The soundtrack. The lunchboxes. The action figures.

Right. And it's still one of the biggest movies of all time. And ever since that story broke, everywhere I go people are like, "So are you gonna make that movie?" I was down in Austin at South by Southwest, and you go at it hard down there—fun but, man, you need to sleep for days afterwards. Anyhow, I got into it one night with a bunch of younger people who were like, Oh, I love Peter Venkman! I grew up with Peter Venkman! We got to talking, and the more we talked about it, the more I thought, Oh Christ, I should just do this thing.

A generation awaits, for sure. You weren't even supposed to play that role, right?

Yeah. Originally it was Belushi. Like a lot of my movies. [beat] God, John died, what was it, twenty-five years ago?

It was '82, right?

Yeah, I think it was '82. I dunno. That part of life is getting fuzzy.

I read that you wanted to play a ghost in the movie. That's kind of brilliant.

Well, I hadn't wanted to do the movie. They kept asking, and I kept saying no. So once upon a time I said, just joking: "If you kill me off in the first reel, then fine, I'll do it." And then supposedly they came up with an idea where they kill me off and I was a ghost in the movie. Kinda clever, really.

But has the Zombieland cameo stolen that gag?

[genuinely confused] But that was a zombie. Not a ghost.

Later on in the interview, Murray tells Fierman he remains friends with Aykroyd, and that it was the Ghost Busters creator who got him studio backing for his first dramatic film, The Razor's Edge.

Everyone says Danny is the nicest guy on the planet.

Danny is…Canadian. [laughs] No, he's the only one I see much of. He's great. And I owe him. Back when I wanted to make The Razor's Edge, he sent me the first twenty-nine pages of Ghostbusters to read. And you know, they were great, even better than what we filmed, so I said, "Okay, okay, gotta do it." And Danny said, [pitch-perfect, like crazily eerily perfect Aykroyd impression] "Uummm, okay. Where should we, uh, er, do it?" And I said, "Well, I'm trying to get this movie made over at Columbia [Pictures]." And he said, "All right, well, you tell 'em that they do your movie there and they'll have the GBs." We had a caterer for Razor's Edge in forty-five minutes. Hell of a guy.

Call me delusional, but I'm one of those kids who "grew up with Peter Venkman," and I read Murray's comments about Ghost Busters 3 in a positive light.  He maintains good relationships with most of his old costars, and he seems up for doing it for a laugh. If anything, Murray just sounds like he has no faith that everyone will get their act together enough to do it, so let's hope he's wrong.

Ghostbusters haunt NYC (sorta), 'Ghostbusters 3' still on track (really)

Remember the opening scene of 1984's Ghost Busters in the New York Public Library reading room where a ghost is shown brushing up on lit? Well, the spontaneous joy guerilla group Improv Everywhere certainly does.

The group, known for pulling off "missions" to inject a little harmless humor in people's lives staged an event in the famous reading room to remind people of the movie - and, with the library's help, to remind folks that the budget-strapped institution is cool.

The gag begins with three "ghosts" in white sheets with eyeholes cut out, separately making their way into the room to take a spot at a computer (to look up "Could a person come back to life after they die?") or browse through a reference book. At one point a security guard talks to the ghost, and although the audio can't be heard in the video below, the guard reportedly asked, "Sir, what are you doing?" The ghost's reply: "Um… haunting the library."

The affair attracts some giggles, but when four 'busters make their way into the reading room to look for specters, observers begin snapping away with cellphone cameras and getting into it. A chase ensues and the Ghostbusters run the sheeted specters out of the library and into the streets of Manhattan.

Truly classic work, Improv Everywhere.  Plus, you reminded me of an important news bit: FilmShaft reports Harold "Egon Spengler" Ramis confirms that GB3 is still on, and will hit theaters in Dec. 2012. That confirms what Dan Aykroyd told me in March.

And what of the on-again/off-again involvement of Bill Murray, who told David Letterman it's his nightmare? He sounds like he's warming to the idea and told Coming Soon he was thinking, "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do ... the guys are funny and I miss [Rick] Moranis and Annie [Potts] and Danny [Aykroyd]. Those people are some people that were really, you know, I miss them. I think that's really a big part of it."

Although Murray adds that the plotline about him being killed early in the film and returning as a ghost has been his joke, and is "sort of half-true, half-joke."

The Night Shift: The beginning

Editor's Note: I'm happy to begin our new weekly feature, The Night Shift - which is the on-set diary of the new independent supernatural-adventure-comedy of the same name currently in pre-production in Mobile, AL. Over the course of the next several weeks and months, you'll get an insider's peek at what it's like for filmmakers to craft a new entry of paranormal pop culture. A big welcome to Erin Lilley, who is involved in the film as a producer and actress, and who will be taking over writing duties every Friday. Now I'm going to pass it along to her to introduce you to The Night Shift. - Aaron Sagers

The Night Shift

Hi, Paranormal Pop Culture readers!  My name is Erin Lilley, and I'm one of the producers of the upcoming independent film, The Night Shift.  I'm also one of the actors, so when our executive producer and director, Thomas Smith, was approached about doing this blog, he very sweetly Shanghai...er, thought of me.  Actually, I'm thrilled to have this opportunity, and can't wait to share with you some of what's going on behind-the-scenes.

So what is The Night Shift?  It is the feature-length version of a short film that our company, Fighting Owl Films, produced in 2008.  The original film focused on Rue Morgan, the undead caretaker of a cemetery with a slight demon problem.  The film was shot in Mobile, Alabama (really), with local talent playing Rue, his best friend Herb (a quick-witted skeleton torso with a flair for fashion), Claire (the living day shift worker and Rue's crush), and Trigger (the demon in western wear).  It cost about $200, and had a crew of about six people, including the actors.  It went on to screen in several film festivals across the country, and has garnered a lot of support and interest online. 

We also received the thrill of our lives when Fangoria reviewed it positively (shown here).  I'm seriously still in a bit of shock over that, to be honest.  The feature will be about 90 minutes, with a cast of about 35, and a considerably larger - though still on a shoestring-budget - so the production values should be worlds better than before. 

Also, Rue and his gang have a few more baddies to battle, and there are a lot more fun adventures to be had.  We're making this movie as a salute to the films we loved as children - Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Goonies - and hope that you enjoy watching it as much as we've enjoyed working on it.

As for me? I played Claire in the original, and I'm reprising that role in the feature.  I also played Trigger in the original (and if you had any idea how girly I am, you'd find that a lot funnier), as well as a ghost child, a tresspassing teenager and I had a turn as Herbie puppeteer. 

My day jobs (yes, we all have them since we have to pay the bills somehow) have me working as a voice-over artist and a professional church singer.  Thomas is a web designer and we've been married for a little over two years.  Yes - married to each other.  We don't have a physical studio, so our apartment has been taken over by props and costumes. 

Right now, my living room is home to two Herbies, a decapitated dummy dressed as a bad wedding singer, and a couple of very confused parakeets.  Next week, I hope to have some fun stories (and maybe pictures!) from our make-up workshop.  Our chief make-up artist is going to teach the extras and some of the principals how to do their own ghost and zombie effects for the shoot.  If nothing else, it should make for an interesting way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I'm a first time blogger and I'm still learning the ropes, but this has been fun.  Please bear with me, and I hope you enjoy this first-hand, inside look at the making of The Night Shift!  And in the meantime, please come say hi on our Fighting Owl Films Facebook page.

Ghosts in the machines: Upcoming paranormal video games

Instead of spending several hours over night, cramped in uncomfortable positions, dealing with clients and not being guaranteed any evidence, aspiring ghost hunters may want to opt instead for some upcoming paranormal pop culture video games that try to simulate an investigation from the comfort of your couch.

Coming in June from EA is "Ambitions," the Sims 3 expansion pack that allows gamers to pursue a multitude of professions and be heroes or villains as detectives, firefighters, mad scientists, eccentric artists - or paranormal investigators (shown in a screenshot, top left) that look remarkably similar to Venkman's crew. (via BigDownload)

Also on the way, for Nintendo's DSi, is Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal. Created by Swedish developer A Different Game, the adventure game, according to USA Today, is an augmented reality game that utilizes real-world input to shape the gameplay, as shown here. Based on the developer's site, after meeting a little girl ghost, she acts as your spirit guide while your DSi is "a portal to the astral plane" as well as a "frequency modulator" that helps you find and collect ghosts. And once you find them, your job is to document they haunt our world and help them find peace while solving riddles. Ghostwire is scheduled for release this Halloween.

So there you go: You're guaranteed a haunting good time right from home instead of having to head into dank, old buildings to hunt for spirits but only finding mosquitoes and asbestos. Then again, if you still insist, maybe these video games will be good cross training for fledgling investigators.

Trailers for both games after the jump.

'Ghost Hunters': Why they matter enough to make it to 100

It’s the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Technically, it’s a vinyl bank of Mr. Stay Puft from Diamond Select Toys, and he hangs out on my desk – a paranormal plump, puffed sugar relative of Bib the Michelin Man – simultaneously offering to give me a hug and destroy our world. Mr. Stay Puft was acquired at last week’s Toy Industry Association Toy Fair in New York City where, amongst all the action figures, board games and plush dolls, I noticed a theme: Ghosts are good for business.  Whether they are scary, cuddly or funny, we ain’t afraid of no ghosts. In fact, we love them.

The allure of spooks and specters has returned in a big way in the last five years.  Even the Ghost Busters, the 1984 comedy from whence Mr. Stay Puft originates, has experienced pop-culture revitalization with last year’s successful video game, next year’s sequel re-teaming much of the original cast and with several toys on display at the aforementioned Toy Fair.

But perhaps ironically, the old Ghost Busters required the new ghostbusters to return spooks to the forefront. Set in both famous locales and private homes, each week the reality show Ghost Hunters explores those bumps in the night, and they’re ready to believe the crazy sounding claims of frighented people. And much like Venkman, Stantz and Spengler, the Ghost Hunters have a famous logo, use an array of gadgets, drive around in a signature vehicle and – most importantly – bustin’ makes them, and audiences, feel good.

It has also made the Syfy network feel very, very good now that the hit reality-TV show will reach the milestone of 100 episodes tonight, with the premiere of the sixth season – which will be celebrated with an episode at Alcatraz along with a live interactive fan viewing/Q&A.

In the interests of full disclosure, I have covered the Ghost Hunters, the two spin-off shows Ghost Hunters International and Ghost Hunters Academy, and much of the show’s TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team on several occasions since stars Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson began their televised mission of paranormal investigations in October 2004.

In that time, I have frequently wondered what makes the show so compelling to me as a writer, and to the three million viewers they draw each week. Even though the show has its detractors, there has to be sizable momentum for anything to last 100 episodes. Beyond the curiosity of “what’s beyond?”, what is it that inspires fans to spend small fortunes to travel across the country to join Hawes, Wilson and the rest of their TAPS group at lectures, signings and ticketed ghost hunts at haunted locations?

Based on personal interactions, I accept the image of the approachable, blue-collar family-men who are plumbers by day, ghost busters by night as legit. But even if the ghost hunter characters were complete orchestrations of an imaginative producer, it would be worth watching.

Additionally, the interplay of the paranormal unknown, the personalities of normal team members and the relatable blue-collar attitude succeeds in drawing about three million viewers each week. And the show’s personality and formula of investigation, evidence review and reveal has been spoofed and imitated by a dozen other shows - each attempting to add their unique spin to the paranormal TV genre.

Yet, amongst the familiar mythologies in all of reality television, theirs ranks in the top 10. Love the show or loathe it, believe it or call it bunk, Ghost Hunters is popular culture and has earned a spot in the reality-TV pantheon (which may be a dubious distinction considering the company).

Moreover, while true that paranormal investigative groups existed long before the Ghost Hunters show, it did spearhead the mainstream awareness of – and to a growing degree, acceptance of – these groups. The show ushered in something of a new wave of Spiritualism, the movement that began in the mid-19th century when séances were held in homes and people gathered in concert halls to watch a medium speak to spirits. However, this time the movement inspired people to form their own ghost hunting communities to help troubled home owners cope with undead squatters, or to spend nights exploring historic landmarks.

But maybe it all comes back to Ghost Busters. Yes, the appeal of exploring the unexplained connects to all of us on some level, but the Ghost Hunters show realizes and breathes life into those fictional pop icons. Anytime a “real life” James Bond or Batman pops up on the news, we take notice. When life imitates art, it’s intriguing. And the possibility that if Gozer the Gozerian ever shows up to ask us to choose our destroyer, we’ll have some guys ready to strap on the proton packs for our supernatural elimination needs

Ivan Reitman to helm 'Ghostbusters 3'

MTV Movies nabbed a great scoop today when it reported Ivan Reitman will indeed be directing Ghostbusters 3. Speculation has been mounting over Reitman's return, but he confirmed it on the red carpet for the National Board of Review event last night in New York City.

The film, which will open Summer 2011, is probably the biggest paranormal pop culture project coming up, which means it's also the one making people the most nervous. Returning to sacred ground is a risky proposition, but so far, this is looking good.

Written by The Office scribes Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the film will supposedly include a new generation of busters led by the original team. That means Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver and Ernie Hudson will be back (though rumors of Rick Moranis returning remain just that so far).

Reitman didn't dish much on the plot, and wouldn't comment on Weaver's slip (via AICN) from December that her character Dana's son is going to be a Ghostbuster or that Murray's Venkman would be a specter.  Her goof was a pretty major plot reveal, but not necessarily a bad one.  In the hands of skilled comedians who respect the legacy of their characters, it could be a cool concept.  Then again, I thought the same thing about this.

On another note, Boxoffice Magazine makes a good point that, with Spider-Man 4 dead, Ghostbusters 3 may be Sony's big 2011 tentpole.

We'll be following the news on this, but in the meantime, check out the trailer for the video game (after the jump).  If they could make a game this good that's faithful to the franchise, then I'm fairly optimistic.

About that 'Zombieland' cameo ... [Spoiler]

If you haven't seen Zombieland yet, you might want to Abort! Abort! Abort! this post because there be spoilers here ...

'Ghost Busters': The pre-make

Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch blog happened upon a slew of 'pre-makes' of modern movies using classic footage. Raiders of the Lost Ark and Forrest Gump both get the old-fashioned, soda shop treatment, but for our paranormal pop culture purposes, check out the 1954 version of Ghost Busters starring Bob Hope, Dean Martin and Fred MacMurray.

Not only is this a pretty ingenious idea, but it's good, clean fun that won't rot your brain like that trash in movie theaters today will! Dagnabit...lousy kids (mutter, mutter) rock 'n roll...give them the what for...in my day...(mutter, mutter)...Matlock

-aaron sagers

(Psychic) reading is fundamental

Ever since Dr. Venkman shocked me (when I was giving the right answers about those stupid cards), I’ve been a little wary of my psychic abilities. But I’m feeling much better about the whole pursuit of these tendencies after reading Tiffany Johnson’s Picture Yourself Developing Your Psychic Abilities.

Psychic jokes aside, I know what you’re thinking, but this book is far outside the realm of “scam artist with a crystal ball” territory. Published by Cengage Learning, a company focused on highly-customized text books, Johnson’s is a refreshingly down-to-earth, practical guide.

Long before she dives into tips and tactics, Johnson acknowledges the popular perceptions and misconceptions about psychics, and spends a fair amount of space discussing the background (and mistakes) of the field. She emphasizes that we all have some psychic ability as part of our human makeup. And unlike some professional psychics, she stresses that psychics aren’t meant to screw with heads or predict the future, but are instead supposed to help others interpret the meaning of signs and images.

This common sense approach, packaged in a sleek presentation with engaging photos and graphics, makes for a fun paranormal pop culture entry from an irrepressibly likable authority.

Since Tiffany Johnson’s lessons take time to learn and practice, I can’t say my psychic senses are tingling after reading it. However, Picture Yourself Developing Your Psychic Abilities does immediately seem like a good text to honing intuition and improving both internal and external dialogue.

-aaron sagers